Truck beam for railway oars



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. GOUP.

TRUOK BEAM FOR RAILWAY GARS.

No. 404,031. Patented May 28, 1889..

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. OOUP.

TRUCK BEAM FOR RAILWAY CARS.

No. 404,031. Patented May 28, 1889! lilllllllllilifi IHIIIKIIE A lllllllll' UNITED STATES PATENT QFEICE.

JOHN COUP, OF NE\V YORK, N. Y.

TRUCK-BEAM FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 404,031, dated May 28, 1889. Application filed March 4, 1887. Renewed March 30, 18 89. SerialNo. 305,499. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN OOUP, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Truck Beams; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to car-truck beams, and has for its object the construction of a draft-beam which will facilitate the rounding of short curves, form a central line of draft, and bring the beam as near to the trucks as possible.

The invention will be hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a plan view; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section 5 Fig. 3, a plan of one section of the beam; Fig. 4, a side View of the same; Fig. 5, an inverted plan view; Fig. 6, an end View; Fig. 7, a perspective of the king-bolt; and Fig. 8, a similar View of the head which slides in the groove in the upper side of the beam.

Reference being had to the drawings and the letters marked thereon, A A represent the trucks; B O, the two sections of the beam D, the inner ends of which intersect and are pivot-ally connected, as shown at E. The front ends of the sections have chambers a formed in them to receive the rear end of a draw-bar, b. In the rear of the chamber a projects a pin, 0, to support a cushion or buffer, d, which may be of rubber, or it may be of the form of a helical spring. Upon said pin 0 is also arranged a helical spring, 6, which extends into the cavity f in the rear end of the draw-bar b. The rear end of the spring bears upon a transverse key, 1, which passes through the beam and the elongated slot 2 in the rear end of the draw-bar h, and

the front end against the end wall of the cavity f in the draw-bar.

It will be observed that space is left between the rear end of the draw-bar and the bufier d, so that the spring 0 receives the first impact of the car striking against the drawhead, and after the spring has been compressed the buffer cushions the end of the draw-bar.

. In the under side of each section of the beam D is formed atransverse groove, g, into which the head h of the king-bolt 1) projects, and is secured thereto by suitable bolts, as k Z, and in the upper side of the sections are formed curved and dovetailed transverse recesses m, with which the head 71 of the bolt 0 engages and moves freely therein.

F represents the bottom frame of a car, having longitudinal sills p p and cross-beams q r s t 'w. The beams r, s, and t are secured to the draft-beam D by means of the bolts 1* and 0, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. By this connection of the car-frame to the draft-beam the car is free to swing laterally at its ends, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the center cross-beam, s, of the ear-frame being pivotally secured to the beam D by the bolt 12. As the car approaches a sharp curve in the road the front truck and the front end of the corresponding section of the draft-beam D will follow the curve, the section of the beam swinging on its pivot in the center, while the front end of the car-body will swing out in the opposite direction and the rear end toward the inner side of the curve, as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 5. The swinging beam and the swinging carbody att-ached to the beam enable a car to round the sharpest curves in roadways without leaving the rail or producing any perceptible strain upon the trucks or the car, and avoiding the concussion or jolt incident to rounding curves under the present construction of railwaycars. Another advantage of this construction is that it avoids the cutting of the flanges of the wheels and the inside of the head of the rail. The car-body is prevented from swinging too far by adjustable stops w, attached to the front and rear beams of the frame, as shown in Fig. 5. The pin 0 takes the place of the spring-pocket in ordinary use, and greatly reduces the cost thereof.

By my construction of a draft-beam the draft is always in a direct line from one end of the car to the other at whatever angle the trucks may be to each other, the number of parts reduced to the minimum, and nearly all of the bolts ordinarily used are dispensed with. The beam is designed to be made of metal, such as malleable iron.

. Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is 1. A draft-beam for railway-cars, made in swinging sections and extending throughout the'entire length of a car, and to which-the car-body is attached, substantially as described. I 2. A draft-beam for railway-cars, made in sections pivotally connected and'having recesses or chambers at their outer ends to support a draw-bar, substantially as described.

3. A draft-beam for railway-cars, made in sections and provided with a recess in each outer end, and a pin or stud inthe rear of said recess, in. combination with a suitable draw-bar and buffer, substantially as described.

4. A draft-beam for railway-cars, made in sections and each section provided with a transverse recess or groove in its upper surface, in combination with a bolt having an elongated head adapted to slide in said groove, substantially as described.

, 5. A draft-beam for railway-cars, having recesses in the outer ends and a projecting 1 pin or stud, in combination with a draw-bar having a chamber in its rear end, a spring, and a buffer, substantially as described.

6. A draft-beam for railway-cars, made in sections pivotally connected and secured to king-bolts which engage with the trucks, in combination with a car-body connectedto the beam and adapted to swing laterally at JOHN COUP.

Witnesses:

D. O. REINOHL, CYRUS W. REINOEHL. 

